John Tarrell Scott

Saskatchewan NAC Auction House Biography and Notes

John Scott was born in New Orleans and raised in the city's Lower Ninth Ward. Scott studied at Xavier University of Louisiana and in 1963 he began studies at Michigan State University from which he received his MFA in 1965. During his time at Michigan State, Scott worked as an assistant to his professors, sculptor Robert Weil and painter/printmaker Charles Pollock (the brother of artist Jackson Pollock). Scott returned to New Orleans in 1965, to serve as professor of fine arts at Xavier University, where he taught for more than 40 years. He gained national recognition during the 1980s and in 1992 the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded Scott the MacArthur Fellowship, or 'genius grant', given to individuals who demonstrate exceptional creativity in their fields of endeavour. Scott's work frequently displayed themes related to African-American life, particularly the rich Afro-Caribbean culture and musical heritage of New Orleans. The single largest public collection of John Scott's work is permanently displayed at the Louisiana Humanities Center of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Scott's work is also included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Amistad Research Center Collection in New Orleans, Loyola University of New Orleans, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, among others. John Scott passed away in September 2007 at the age of 67.